Admiration From Afar
by KeepCalmAndWriteSomething
Summary: Sirius unknowingly lets some things slip about Regulus' sexual orientation. How will Severus handle it? - Runner-Up in the Pick-a-Plot Contest - Round Two.


Severus sat at a small wooden table in the back corner of the library – far from the prying eyes of Madam Pince – with a Potions textbook lying open in front of him. The book was filled with his own corrections and substitutions. It was a habit he had developed with all of the books he owned. He would read through them, snarling at and scratching out all of the mistakes he found. He was beginning to believe that every author in the world was an idiot. They would have to be if a seventh year student could spot their mistakes.

He sighed as he spotted yet another mistake. Surely crushing the rose petals was better than cutting them? As he began to scrawl his thoughts in the margin of the page, he heard the sound of a chair scraping the floor. He looked up as he finished writing, mildly surprised to see Regulus Black sitting across from him. He raised a brow as the other boy removed a few books from his rucksack, never once meeting Severus' eyes.

He assumed this was some sort of house unity thing. Slytherins almost always chose to sit with fellow house members rather than students from other houses. But that rule had never really seemed to apply to Snape. Most people tried to avoid him at all costs.

Not that it bothered him, really. He didn't mind being alone; he actually quite enjoyed the solitude. That way he didn't have to pretend to be interested in what other people were saying. Didn't have to act like he gave a damn about them or what was going on in their lives.

However, Regulus seemed inclined to keep the silence unbroken, so Snape had no desire to run him off at the moment. But the second he opened his mouth …

Snape turned back to his book. As his hand hovered over the page, ready to mark another mistake, a snicker sounded from somewhere behind him. He recognized the sound immediately, his hand diving into his robes for his wand.

Too late. With a shouted incantation, his vision suddenly went fuzzy. Everything was hazy and indistinct, one massive blur after the other. "Potter!" he shouted, receiving a disapproving hiss from the librarian.

Someone cleared their throat. "Actually, it was my brother."

"Of course. I suppose you had a hand in this," he growled.

Regulus sniffed indignantly. "I would never lower myself to his level." Then, more as an afterthought, he said, "Sirius and I haven't spoken in a long time."

"Hmph," was all Snape said before attempting to find his books through the haze. It was quite unsuccessful, as he couldn't even manage to find the table.

"You can't see, can you?" came the dubious response.

"I'm fine," he growled through clenched teeth. He took a step forward and bumped the table harshly. He hissed a breath of pain as his leg began to throb. "Bloody hell!"

Regulus snorted in amusement. "Yeah, you definitely seem fine to me." Snape felt a hand on his shoulder. "Here, let me take you to the Hospital Wing."

Snape shrugged away from his touch and scowled heavily. "I don't need your help! Just go away!"

Regulus sighed in exasperation. "If I don't take you, you'll just stumble around the school. Then you'll run into those stupid Gryffindors, and you won't stand a chance against them in a duel _if you're blind!_"

"I could handle it," he said disdainfully, but when Regulus grabbed his shoulder again, he let himself be led out of the library.

It was disorienting being without sight. He had to place his trust in Regulus to lead him where he needed to go, which was a rather scary idea. He hardly knew this boy. What if he was lying and he really was in on the prank with Sirius? He could be leading him right into another trap.

"I'm sorry about Sirius, you know. He's never really been like the rest of us," came Regulus' soft voice after a few moments of unbroken silence.

"What a disgrace that must be to the _noble house of Black,_" he sneered.

Snape didn't see Regulus nod his head broodingly. "Yeah, it was. He left home about a year ago when him and mum got into a pretty nasty fight. I heard he's living with the Potters now."

"I tried to talk to Sirius about you once," Regulus said. "Told him he should leave you alone, or at the very least ease up a bit." Here he laughed dryly. "Sirius said that I was crazy, that I only cared because –." His voice suddenly trailed off and he did not seem inclined to finish his sentence.

They sank back into a heavy silence. The tension hanging between them was thick and Severus wanted nothing more than to get away from this boy. When something gently brushed against his arm, Snape quickly realized – even without sight – that they were much closer than they had been a few moments ago.

"Oi! Regulus! What are you doing with Snivellus?"

Both boys recognized the voice immediately and they turned towards the sound. Regulus' hand tensed where it rested on Snape's arm.

"I'm taking him to the Hospital Wing, Sirius."

Sirius sighed and Snape heard the quiet padding of footsteps as he moved closer to them. "Why, brother? You could do _so much better_."

Regulus' grip on his arm tightened even more, if that was at all possible. "I- I don't know what you're talking about. Why don't you just go?"

Sirius scoffed. "Come now, brother. No need to be shy. Surely Snivellus already knows that you're gay?"

Regulus let out a squeak of surprise and tried to tug Severus away. But Snape, whose mouth had fallen slightly agape, was frozen in shock. But Regulus was persistent, continuing to pull on his arm, trying to make him move to no avail.

Sirius laughed. "You mean … he really didn't know? You haven't made your move after all this time? What's it been … two years? Three?"

"What are you talking about, Black?" Snape spat, already thoroughly confused by this conversation.

"Regulus _fancies _you, Snivellus. Only Merlin knows why," Sirius snarled.

Then he was letting Regulus pull him away, leaving a laughing Sirius in their wake. "Just ignore him. Sirius likes to think that he knows what he's talking about," he said, his voice shaking slightly. His hand was still a death grip on his arm.

Snape could hear the younger boy's rapid breathing at his side. He seemed close to the point of hyperventilating. Severus wondered if he was going to have a panic attack.

"Are you alright?" Snape mumbled awkwardly.

There was no answer.

"So … _you're gay_?"

Silence, and then a meek reply. "Does that bother you?"

Severus had already accepted that he was attracted to both women _and _men. That didn't really bother him as much as he thought it should. Of course, he didn't go around announcing this to everyone. And apparently neither did Regulus.

"No. No, that doesn't bother me. I just didn't expect it."

"Really? You aren't … disgusted?" Regulus said, sounding slightly hopeful.

"No, I'm not."

Regulus breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Oh, here we are." A door squeaked on its hinges. "Madame Pomfrey!"

A shrill, agitated voice answered. "What's all this shouting about? Hush, boy!"

"Severus has been hexed. He can't see."

"Hmph. That'll be easy enough to fix. Run along, boy; he doesn't need an audience."

"Oh – um – of course! Um, I'll see you later, Severus?" The nervousness was obvious in his voice.

Snape gave a small smile, nothing more than a slight twitching of his lips. "Yeah. See you later."


End file.
